1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of coin accepting mechanisms for use in the vending machine industry, and more particularly, is directed to an improved, vertical coin slide capable of accepting and processing a plurality of coins in side by side, vertical, transversely spaced arrangement.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Coin slides have long been utilized in the vending machine industry to accept coins, to check the coins for denomination and authenticity prior to vending and then to receive and store the coins following vending for later collection by the owner or manager of the establishment. More recently, as prices have begun to rise and as vending operations have become more costly, the need has arisen to provide coin slides capable of accepting increased numbers of coins. More recent improvements in the coin slide industry have been directed toward accepting coins in vertical orientation to thereby conserve space and to present a device that is both compact and reliable. Additionally, improved means have been incorporated to allow the vending price to be easily changed by the operator without requiring special skills or special tools.
As set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,350,240, 4,401,202 and 4,499,983, which patents are owned by the assignee of the present application, improved facilities have now been designed which render the existing vertical type coin slides capable of rapid and easy price adjustment to thereby enable vending machine operators to quickly adjust the coin slides to either a higher vending price or to a lower vending price, in accordance with day-to-day marketplace requirements. Interchangeable cores are provided to allow price adjustment without major disassembly of the component parts of the coin slide.
While the devices of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,350,240, 4,401,202 and 4,499,983 incorporated many improved construction features which were particularly designed to minimize the acceptance of bad coins and to discourage tampering, experience has proved that even such improved coin slides could sometimes be manipulated in a manner to retrieve the inserted coins after the vending cycle had been initiated or to depress one or more coin checking levers without using coins. The present invention incorporates additional construction features to prevent such unauthorized tampering and withdrawal of the vended coins.